McCready v. eBay, Inc.
453 F.3d 882
In the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Case Number 05-2450 and 05-3043
Before Circuit Judge Easterbrook, Circuit Judge Manion, and Circuit Judge Kanne
Decided on July 10, 2006

Relevancy of the case: Does the disclosure of information under a court order constitute a violation of privacy as per the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986?

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692e (“FDCPA”)
• The Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681a (“FCRA”)
• The Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 1986 (“ECPA”)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The plaintiff-appellant was operating an online business on eBay. However, the platform suspended his account due to dissatisfied customers. eBay informed the plaintiff about the suspension and asked him to reimburse the claimants for account reinstatement.
• The plaintiff instead retaliated through litigation, initiating his first lawsuit in the Northern District of Illinois bankruptcy court in 2002. In this lawsuit, he alleged that eBay’s suspension violated bankruptcy stay provisions. The court, and later the district court, rejected his claims on appeal.
• The plaintiff’s second lawsuit, filed in Iroquois County Circuit Court, also failed. The court denied his claims and imposed a $1000 sanction for bad faith litigation. The Appellate Court of Illinois affirmed this decision.
• In his third attempt, the plaintiff filed a complaint against eBay and numerous users of eBay. He alleged violations of the FDCPA, the FCRA, and the Electronic Fund Transfers Act. The case was referred to a magistrate judge over the plaintiff’s EFTA claim against eBay, and the other defendants were dismissed.
• The plaintiff filed the fourth lawsuit against Kamminga and McDuffee for selling a snowmobile to another buyer despite him being the highest bidder. The court granted relief to the defendants.
• The plaintiff filed a subsequent lawsuit in the Central District of Illinois against Kamminga, McDuffee, and eBay for eBay’s production of documents in compliance with a subpoena from the Michigan case, which violated the ECPA.
• The plaintiff’s allegations and outcomes remained consistent in all the forums.

Prominent Arguments by the Counsels

• The plaintiff’s counsel argued that eBay’s suspension of McCready’s accounts violated the automatic stay provisions of 11 U.S.C. § 362(a) during his bankruptcy proceedings. He further contended that eBay’s compliance with a subpoena in the Michigan case violated the plaintiff’s rights under the ECPA.
• The defendant’s counsel argued that the plaintiff’s repeated and unsuccessful lawsuits against eBay, spanning various courts, demonstrated a pattern of harassment and abuse of legal process, justifying the need for sanctions. Also, as noted by the Sixth Circuit, the plaintiff’s failure to address the merits of the substantive issues raised in his complaints undermined the validity of his legal claims and failed to preserve any issues for appeal.

Opinion of the Bench

• The bench noted the plaintiff’s failure to address the merits of the substantive issues raised in his complaint. Moreover, his behaviour towards the magistrate judge during objections was inappropriate.
• The case was entangled in motions aimed at harassing parties and causing vexatious delays.

Final Decision

• The court affirmed the district court’s judgement.